Gods Plan John Foglander Today, I want to share with you a word.

Ephesians Chapter 1 We will talk about Gods big plan today. God has plan for you and me individually but He also have a big plan. Something he has purposed. So, lets turn to the first chapter of Ephesians. After just reading from the beginning, Paul starts this letter by saying in verse 3; Ephesians 1:3 3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.4 For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love, You see something very typical here, as when we read everything Paul has written that he focused very much on Jesus Christ. And especially this when he said, In Christ. It is something that comes back again and again and again and so he writes about In Christ, Thru Christ, By Christ, For Christ. And so there is something very very important about this. He started by saying that, God has blessed us with all the heavenly blessings in Christ Jesus. That really goes beyond what we can understand right now. I mean, think about the God who knows everything. He who is really unlimited and everything that God calls to be a blessing, everything that God calls to be a blessing. That He has blessed us with inChrist Jesus so where is the limit on that. We dont know. But still this is what the Lord has done. But we also see here this, He has done it in Christ, so if we are not In Christ, we will never be a part of this blessing. That is the key, to be In Christ. Now if we look back to the beginning when God created man, we also see here that God chose us before He ever created us. This tells us that this was His purpose when He created man, that we would be In Him. We can also see, the first two people that the bible speaks about, Adam and Eve they were blessed with everything that is on this earth. They were given authority on this earthBut what we received in Christ is far more than that. We are blessed with all the blessing in the heavens. Because Christ was not in Adam and Eve in the beginning. Its one thing that they were created in the image of God and that they were created perfect. The bible says thatthe glory of God was upon them but its still a fact that they were not In Christ. But they could be because God has chosen them for that. But what we see when we go back to the beginning is that it was not automatically solved. And what we find is that God was using the way He has creating them, also as a way to explain to them about His plan and purpose. I think you have noticed that when you read how God created

man that there are some, maybe we could say, interesting things that God did. On the other hand, we know that God is capable to create just anything by His word. God can speak and it is there. So that means that when God did it in a little different way, He did that with purpose. It has significance. Genesis Chapter 2. We will look at the creation of man in that chapter and what God did with them. As I said it has is a prophetic significance. In verse 7, we read first of all. It says, 7 Then the LORD God formed a man from the dustof the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being. So instead of just speaking the word, God actually took dust from the ground and he formed man. He formed his body, his shape. So he must have been stranding there like a statue, formed. And then it says that God is breathing his breath of life into man. And this is why man became a living being. So god gave man his life through his breath and this was to signify, that man was not only created by God, born of God, born by His life. But prophetically, this also speaks about that God one day took dust upon Himself. Not only his life but He Himself would enter a body of dust.It speaks about reincarnationthat God himself one day would come in the form of a man. And we continue to read, it says in verse 8 8 Now the LORD God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed. 9 The LORD God made all kinds of trees grow out of the groundtrees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Those two trees were of course special. They were not good for food, because they were notthere for that reason; they were there for spiritual reasons. But you know it says here that the Lord God planted a garden. To plant means that it follows a certain structure and order. We usually can easily can very easily see the difference between something that is planted and just a wild nature. Because you can see a structure. For instance if you drive on the road, and you have an alley of trees on the said site. You know for sure that it is planted because it will never happen in spontaneous in nature that trees would stand that exact. So its planted. Someone was thinking. Someone made a plan. Someone measured carefully. And said,Here is where we going to plant. And so they were taking and putting tree after tree there. Now it says here that the Lord God planted a garden. This means still that it was not just a small garden. It was a huge area probably as big as a nation. But yet there was a difference between inside of Eden and outside. There was a border where Eden started and Eden means something like beauty or the light. So, God made something that was more beautiful than the others and there he placed man.

You know, man was given authority to spread out all over the world and to have dominion. But that dominion started in the Garden of Eden. So, this was a vision or a picture for them. What god wanted man to do in the world when he said, Be fruitful, multiply, teal the earth, subdue it. He wanted man to build on this earth. He wanted man to bring structure and order just as it was in Eden. But again, since Adam also was a prophetic time of Christ becoming a man. Even Jesus was called the last Adam, so Eden was also a prophetic picture of the kingdom of God that one day it will come on the earth were Gods order and where Gods structure will be bordered and Jesus will be the king and ruler in that kingdom. Hallelujah! So now he had created man and the the bible says, all the other living things, the birds were there, the fish were there, animals were there and there was man. And then God said something, Itsnot good for man to be alone. In verse 18
18

The LORD God said, It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.

And so God said, I will make him a helper fit for him. Now, this means a helper that equals him. A helper that is on his level. Because you know, of course man was not alone. In the sense that there was no one else there. There were a lot living beings there. And it also speaks about how He gave names to the different animals in the world. This was the time when everything still was friendly in the earth but then it says, for Adam it didnt find any help. Now, again, if we look to history, we can see how big help man has had of animals. For thousands of years, they have been plowing our fields; they have been pulling ourcart. They have provided us with milk, with meat, with eggs, with clothes, a lot of things that we can receive. So the point God was making was that there is years of loneliness in the sense that no one equals him. And this is at the same time a picture of the fact that God already have created all the angels. And the angels are powerful, they are intelligent, but they are not created in the image and likeness of God. It says in the book of Hebrews chapter 1:5.
5

For to which of the angels did He ever say: You are My Son, Today I have begotten You?[c] And again:

I will be to Him a Father, And He shall be to Me a Son? It says that they are serving spirits that are sent out. So this speaks about that the son of God was alone in the sense that there was no helper that equaled him. So God decided to do something about it and it says here that he put a deep sleep upon man. Genesis 2 Verse 21; 21 And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; And the rib that the lord had taken to the man, he made into a woman and brought her to the man. Again, we of course know that God didnt need to do it this way but it was significant that she was taken out of man to show that they were of the same kind. That they would belong to one another. And just as man was created out of the breath of God, to be in the image and the likeness of God so there would be a similarity between the man and the woman. And so God put him to a deep sleep. This was not a natural sleep; this was the first surgery in history. I mean God put him to sleep and open him and he didnt wake up and god took that rib bone. There are people who think that if that was the case. There should be one rib missing. But then we need to think a second time. God took a rib bone but He didnt change his DNA. So when Adam reproduced, there was a full DNA that gave his son who therefore has all the rib bones. Now, anyhow, this deep sleep is a prophetic picture of the death of Christ. The one who comes incarnated and that He would die and through that death, God will give birth to the church. And the church would be taken out on His death. And become alive because of His death. And so, when He had created her, God bought the two of them together. And you see here comes the really interesting thing, because it is very clear that it was Gods purpose that they belong to one another. They needed one another in order to reproduce. That was very obvious that it was Gods plan but at the same time, they were not created with this unity. I mean in their case, there was nothing else to choose. One man, one woman. But yet God wanted them to choose and that is the reason why they were not one when they were created. But instead, God was introducing to them the idea of covenant. And God was teaching them in verse 24:
24

Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.

They were not but they should become. So God was teaching them about this. And they have to respond to that because covenant is two things: Covenants is one, agreement and 2, commitment. And commitment goes very far. Commitment means that you give yourself or your own life to the other person and that was the choice must make. That was the commitment they must be willing to do. Otherwise, they could not be one, because you see in the length of time. You cannot command someone to love; you cannot require someone to love. Love must be given

by a willful heart. And so they have to choose one another and it seems like they gladly did because they were responding to what God said. Therefore we see in the next verse, it says:
25

And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.

Before this, they were simply called the man and the woman but know it is the man and his wife. Hallelujah! They have become united because they responded to what God said. And they became one and I think this was a fantastic experience for them. Because remember, I mean we may think its fantastic to get married in our time, but remember for them both of them have the glory of God upon them and both of them didnt have any flesh. So I think their ability to experience this oneness was unique. And I think they enjoyed one another very much, to belong to one another. So strong, to know one another, so intimate and to have the feeling that we are one. And we will always be together. But right there, somewhere in their honeymoon, God came to them and he said, Sit down here Adam; I have something to tell you. What you have just experienced, that you became one and now you live. I want to invite you in the same way to be one with my son. And that you will be in Him. If you look over there, you see the tree of life, if you choose that tree, you choose my son. And you receive that life which means unity with Him that you will be in Him. And He will be in you. So God was inviting man into unity with Himself and God had chosen man for this before we were created. But now, we have to choose God.

So the invitation was there. But there was also another tree. Because as I said, man was given a choice, that was a part of Gods image in us. And that the other tree represented that we could go our own way. That we could be our own lord that we could make yourself independent from God. That was the choice. And you see this is the tragedy with the sinful. Not only has that man choose to go his own way. But at the same time, we were choosing not to have Christ. Could you imagine that? God says, I want to invite you into my fellowship. You will look deeper into my heart than any other created being. You will know me like no other created being. And I have prepared this for you. And we said, no! And instead, choose the way of independence which will lead to death, which will lead to catastrophe to this cracked and destroyed world. With all the sorrow, with all the pain, with all the evil. Thats what we wanted instead of Christ. And you see, once man made this choice, it meant that the way to the tree of life was closed. Because you cant have both of them at the same time. You cannot be in unity with Christ and go your own way. You cannot have Christ as Lord and still be your own lord. It must be one of the two. So when man made his choice, the way was closed to the tree of life. And after some

generations, this was forgotten. Man didnt know what we were really created for and what God had purposed. And so Paul says in Ephesians, that this purpose of God became like a mystery that was hidden through the ages. And only when Jesus came was it revealed to us again. Because you know, we refused God and still he didnt give up on us. That is so amazing. I mean, we insulted Him. And what were we? We were just created beings. You could think that God can just say, OK. Have it your own way and I could create another world. That He could easily have done that but why didnt He? Because of the character of God. God is love, God is faithful, and God is merciful. And so instead of just abandoning us, God made a plan to save us and to restore us. And so it happened that He came into this world and became a man, Jesus Christ. And when the time came, Jesus stepped in and took all of our sins upon Him. He took the responsibility. He carried the cross and He paid the price for all our sins to deliver us from guilt to deliver us from curse but not just to deliver but also to restore that we could come back to our real purpose. And that is also the reason why Jesus died on the cross .The cross for Him was an instrument of torture and death. But it also speaks about something else. If you look at the cross, you see a tree, you have the stem and you have the crown like three big branches. Its the symbol of a tree. And Jesus died on that cross of curse so that He would open the way for us again to the tree of life. So for you, the cross is the tree of life. And God gave us a second chance. We can choose life through the gospel that speaks about what Jesus has done for us. By receiving that and believing in that. You received life from God a life that means you have become the child of God but also a life In Christ. Halleluiah! Praise God! The tree of life is available!

21st century Missions Its not for you to know times and people which the Father has fixed by his own authority. He said in the famous verse that, Acts 1:8
But ye shall receive power, when the Holy Spirit is come upon you: and ye shall be my witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea and Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

Thanks for allowing me to share with you this Sunday. The ministry and passion for the Chinese Christian Ministry is very dear to my heart for over 30 years. In fact, I myself came to Christ in mid60s when I was in high school, reading their Chinese magazine called Chinese Today. It hasnt changed much in the last 30 to 40 years. Its the most popular Chinese Christian monthly magazine with a very wide issue around the world.

But in recent year our English counterpart we call The Challengers this is a magazine has also evolved to a derive quarterly magazine. And we intent to feature articles aim to reach readers in the areas of fengshui and other eastern new age. More biblical stand point of the asia, so hopefully,